"maritime route is formed for much of its length for shipping and supplies: through the Port of London for international trade, internally along its length and by its connection to the British canal system. The river's position has put it at the centre of many events in British history, leading to it being described by John Burns as ""liquid history"". Two broad canals link the river to other river basins: the Kennet and Avon Canal (Reading to Bath) and the Grand Union Canal (London to the Midlands). The Grand Union effectively bypassed the earlier, narrow and winding Oxford Canal which"
"the start of the Birmingham and Fazeley was the main link between the Birmingham system and the route to London via Aston Junction, the Digbeth Branch Canal and the Warwick and Birmingham Canal. The Tame Valley Canal, in conjunction with the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal, provided a northern bypass around the congestion. Both were authorised by Acts of Parliament on the same day, and both opened on 14 February 1844. The Tame Valley Canal ran from Tame Valley Junction on the Walsall Canal to Salford Junction on the Birmingham and Fazeley. The Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal was a"
"and Birmingham Canal is the Avon Ring, which is long with 129 locks, and also includes parts of four waterways. Worcester and Birmingham Canal The Worcester and Birmingham Canal is a canal linking Birmingham and Worcester in England. It starts in Worcester, as an 'offshoot' of the River Severn (just after the river lock) and ends in Gas Street Basin in Birmingham. It is long. There are 58 locks in total on the canal, including the 30 Tardebigge Locks, one of the largest lock flights in Europe. The canal climbs from Worcester to Birmingham. The parliamentary bill permitting its construction"
"Birmingham and Fazeley Canal The Birmingham and Fazeley Canal is a canal of the Birmingham Canal Navigations in the West Midlands of England. Its purpose was to provide a link between the Coventry Canal and Birmingham and thereby connect Birmingham to London via the Oxford Canal. The story of the Birmingham and Fazeley begins in 1770, when the Birmingham Canal Company was seen as having a monopoly. At the time, the coalfields at Walsall did not have canal access, and a public meeting was held at Lichfield on 18 August to discuss an independent link from Walsall to Fradley Junction"
"part from the Cromwell Broad. Birmingham and Fazeley Canal The Birmingham and Fazeley Canal is a canal of the Birmingham Canal Navigations in the West Midlands of England. Its purpose was to provide a link between the Coventry Canal and Birmingham and thereby connect Birmingham to London via the Oxford Canal. The story of the Birmingham and Fazeley begins in 1770, when the Birmingham Canal Company was seen as having a monopoly. At the time, the coalfields at Walsall did not have canal access, and a public meeting was held at Lichfield on 18 August to discuss an independent link"
"Thames and Severn Canal The Thames and Severn Canal is a canal in Gloucestershire in the south of England, which was completed in 1789. It was conceived as part of a canal route from Bristol to London. At its eastern end, it connects to the River Thames at Inglesham Lock near Lechlade, while at its western end, it connects to the Stroudwater Navigation at Wallbridge near Stroud, and thence to the River Severn. It has one short arm (branch), from Siddington to the town of Cirencester. It includes Sapperton Tunnel, which when built was the longest canal tunnel in Britain,"
"Birmingham Canal Navigations Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) is a network of canals connecting Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and the eastern part of the Black Country. The BCN is connected to the rest of the English canal system at several junctions. At its working peak, the BCN contained about 160 miles (257 km) of canals; today just over 100 miles (160 km) are navigable, and the majority of traffic is from tourist and residential narrowboats. The first canal to be built in the area was the Birmingham Canal, built from 1768 to 1772 under the supervision of James Brindley from the, then, edge"
"locks it was not broadened in 1933 as it only led to other narrow canals. Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal The Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal is a short canal connecting the Digbeth Branch of the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal in the centre of Birmingham () to the Warwick and Birmingham Canal near Gravelly Hill Interchange (). It was authorized in 1840 by Act of Parliament to relieve pressure on this connection to the Grand Junction Canal leading to London and opened in 1844. It is 2.5 miles long and has 6 locks. In 1929 it was bought by the"
"Worcester and Birmingham Canal The Worcester and Birmingham Canal is a canal linking Birmingham and Worcester in England. It starts in Worcester, as an 'offshoot' of the River Severn (just after the river lock) and ends in Gas Street Basin in Birmingham. It is long. There are 58 locks in total on the canal, including the 30 Tardebigge Locks, one of the largest lock flights in Europe. The canal climbs from Worcester to Birmingham. The parliamentary bill permitting its construction was passed in 1791 empowering the company to raise £180,000 (equivalent to £ in ), through 1,800 shares at a"
"and Birmingham Canal leads to the Digbeth Branch Canal of the Birmingham Canal Navigations at the Warwick Bar, while the later line of the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal leads to the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal (and Tame Valley Canal) at Salford Junction, which in turn has connections to the Coventry Canal and the Trent and Mersey Canal. Formed by amalgamations of once-independent canals, the 'Leicester Line' of the Grand Union Canal runs north from Norton Junction for about until it reaches Leicester, where it joins the River Soar to provide a link to the River Trent and to the"
"Digbeth Branch Canal The Digbeth Branch Canal in Birmingham, England is a short canal which links the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal at Aston Junction and the Grand Union Canal at Digbeth Junction (or historically, at the adjacent Warwick Bar) in Digbeth, a district in Birmingham, England. Built under the Birmingham Canal Act 1768 and completed in 1799 the Digbeth Branch of the Birmingham Canal Navigations took traffic from the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal and the Warwick and Birmingham Canal (now both part of the Grand Union Canal) towards the Worcester and Birmingham Canal at the Worcester Bar (Gas Street"
"through route was completed after the merger of the Wyrley and Essington and the Birmingham Canal Navigations. A short branch containing eight locks linking Walsall to Birchills was opened in 1841. The Tame Valley Canal was a solution to the problem of congestion at Farmers Bridge Locks, which was the main link between the Birmingham system and the route to London via the Warwick and Birmingham Canal. The canal provided a connection from Tame Valley Junction to Salford Junction, from where another new canal, the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal connected to Bordesley Junction. Both canals were authorised at the"
"from the lower level. Smethwick Junction (canal) Smethwick Junction () is the name of the canal junctions where the Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line Canal from Birmingham splits into the BCN Old Main Line and the BCN New Main Line near to Smethwick, West Midlands, England. The Birmingham Canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1768, and ran from Aldersley Junction, where it joined the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, to central Birmingham. Twenty locks (later 21) raised the level of the line through immediately after Aldersley Junction, and it then followed the contour, which later became known as"
"Birmingham city boundary and Spon Lane locks. BCN Main Line The BCN Main Line, or Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line describes the evolving route of the Birmingham Canal between Birmingham and Wolverhampton in England. The name ""Main Line"" was used to distinguish the main Birmingham to Wolverhampton route from the many other canals and branches built or acquired by the Birmingham Canal Navigations company. On 24 January 1767 a number of prominent Birmingham businessmen, including Matthew Boulton and others from the Lunar Society, held a public meeting in the White Swan, High Street, Birmingham to consider the possibility of building"
"Tame Valley Canal The Tame Valley Canal is a relatively late (1844) canal in the West Midlands of England. It forms part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations. It takes its name from the roughly-parallel River Tame. The canal runs from Tame Valley Junction where it joins the Walsall Canal near Ocker Hill and Toll End, and terminates at Salford Junction where it meets the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal and the Grand Union Canal. It is long and has twin towpaths throughout. Between Tame Valley Junction and Rushall Junction it goes under the Midland Metro near Wednesbury and crosses over the"
"the Birmingham Canal Navigations. From the junction, the Anglesey Branch heads to the north west for , passing under Anglesey Bridge almost immediately, and then crossing a railway track on an aqueduct, to reach Anglesey Basin. To the south, the canal is level for to Longwood Junction via the Daw End Branch, where it joins the Rushall Canal, or for along the main line to Horseley Fields Junction and the BCN Main Line to Wolverhampton and Birmingham. The branch to Lichfield and Huddlesford heads east, and the start of the canal is spanned by a grade II listed cast iron"
"BCN Main Line The BCN Main Line, or Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line describes the evolving route of the Birmingham Canal between Birmingham and Wolverhampton in England. The name ""Main Line"" was used to distinguish the main Birmingham to Wolverhampton route from the many other canals and branches built or acquired by the Birmingham Canal Navigations company. On 24 January 1767 a number of prominent Birmingham businessmen, including Matthew Boulton and others from the Lunar Society, held a public meeting in the White Swan, High Street, Birmingham to consider the possibility of building a canal from Birmingham to the Staffordshire"
"from the Birmingham Canal, the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, and a contingent of iron foundries in Wolverhampton, an Act of Parliament was obtained in 1793. The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal was authorised soon afterwards, which would provide a connection to London. The original route was renamed ""Line no 1"" to distinguish it from the new ""Line no 2"" which linked the canal at Park Head Junction (near Netherton) to Halesowen, and then via the tunnel at Lapal to the Worcester and Birmingham Canal at Selly Oak, Birmingham. Work began in early 1794 with Josiah Clowes as engineer and William Underhill as resident"
"Kings Norton Junction Kings Norton Junction () is the name of the canal junction where the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal terminates and meets the Worcester and Birmingham Canal at Kings Norton, Birmingham, England. The Worcester and Birmingham Canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1791, after overcoming opposition by the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal and the Birmingham Canal Company. The first saw the new route as direct competition, while the second would not allow a junction between the two canals. The canal was built southwards from Birmingham, where there was a gap between the canal and the Birmingham system. Shortly"
"Smethwick Junction (canal) Smethwick Junction () is the name of the canal junctions where the Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line Canal from Birmingham splits into the BCN Old Main Line and the BCN New Main Line near to Smethwick, West Midlands, England. The Birmingham Canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1768, and ran from Aldersley Junction, where it joined the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, to central Birmingham. Twenty locks (later 21) raised the level of the line through immediately after Aldersley Junction, and it then followed the contour, which later became known as the Wolverhampton Level, to"
"of the Warwickshire Ring. Warwickshire ring The Warwickshire ring is a connected series of canals forming a circuit around the West Midlands area of England. The ring is formed from the Coventry Canal, the Oxford Canal, the Grand Union Canal, the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal and the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal. It is a popular route with tourists due to its circular route and mixture of urban and rural landscapes. The ring totals 106 miles and has 115 locks, although there are two alternative routes through the southern part of Birmingham - from Kingswood Junction, one route follows the Grand Union Canal"
"Canal to Birmingham (south) and Tamworth (north-west). Above Salford Junction are the slip roads to Birmingham's busiest motorway junction. Below it are the confluences of the Hockley Brook and River Rea into the River Tame. Salford Junction Salford Junction () is the canal junction of the Grand Union and Tame Valley Canals with the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal. It is in the north of the administrative city of Birmingham, England and historically marked a tripoint between two divisions of Aston to the south and Erdington to the north. It is directly east of most of the Gravelly Hill Interchange (Spaghetti"
"it joins the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal, and the other follows the Stratford Canal (north) and Worcester and Birmingham Canal to Gas Street Basin in central Birmingham. The latter route is slightly longer and has more locks, but many consider it to be more scenic and interesting. There is something of everything, in canal terms, around the Warwickshire Ring. There are wide beam and narrowbeam locks; there is idyllic open rolling countryside, and the grimness of industry, some of it removed, some of it improved, and some of it still there in all its awfulness. There are tourist honeypot sites,"
"Avon Ring The Avon Ring is a canal ring which is located to the south west of Birmingham in England, and connects the major towns of Stratford-upon-Avon, Evesham, Tewkesbury, Worcester and the southern outskirts of Birmingham. It consists of stretches of four waterways, and is heavily locked, with a total of 129 locks on its route of . The concept of a canal ring is a recent one, having been coined in 1965 to describe routes which could be used by people boating for leisure, that did not require holiday makers to return to their start location by the same"
"of 40 feet. All of the canal between Ashted Lock at Jennens Road (formerly the A47) and Great Barr Street (Bordesley) is within the Warwick Bar Conservation Area. Digbeth Branch Canal The Digbeth Branch Canal in Birmingham, England is a short canal which links the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal at Aston Junction and the Grand Union Canal at Digbeth Junction (or historically, at the adjacent Warwick Bar) in Digbeth, a district in Birmingham, England. Built under the Birmingham Canal Act 1768 and completed in 1799 the Digbeth Branch of the Birmingham Canal Navigations took traffic from the Birmingham and Warwick"
"Blackwall Tunnel The Blackwall Tunnel is a pair of road tunnels underneath the River Thames in east London, England linking the London Borough of Tower Hamlets with the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and part of the A102 road. The northern portal lies just south of the East India Dock Road (A13) in Blackwall; the southern entrances are just south of The O on the Greenwich Peninsula. The road is managed by Transport for London (TfL). The tunnel was originally opened as a single bore in 1897 by the then Prince of Wales, as a major transport project to improve commerce"
"Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal The Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal was a canal in England which ran from Nantwich, where it joined the Chester Canal, to Autherley, where it joined the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. Forming part of a major link between Liverpool and the industrial heartlands of the Midlands, the canal was opened in 1835, and merged with the Ellesmere and Chester Canal Company in 1845, which became the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company in the following year. The canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1825. It was to serve as a link between"
"Oxford Canal The Oxford Canal is a narrow canal in central England linking Oxford with Bedworth (between Coventry and Nuneaton on the Coventry Canal) via Banbury and Rugby. Completed in 1790, it connects to the River Thames at Oxford and is integrated with the Grand Union Canal — combined for 5 miles close to the villages of Braunston and Napton-on-the-Hill, a canal which soon after construction superseded much of its traffic. The canal was for approximately 15 years the main canal artery of trade between the Midlands and London; it retained importance in its local county economies and that of"
"Warwickshire ring The Warwickshire ring is a connected series of canals forming a circuit around the West Midlands area of England. The ring is formed from the Coventry Canal, the Oxford Canal, the Grand Union Canal, the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal and the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal. It is a popular route with tourists due to its circular route and mixture of urban and rural landscapes. The ring totals 106 miles and has 115 locks, although there are two alternative routes through the southern part of Birmingham - from Kingswood Junction, one route follows the Grand Union Canal to Salford Junction, where"
"such as the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal, the Warwick and Birmingham Canal (now the Grand Union) and the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal linked Birmingham to the rest of the country. By 1830, some of canal had been constructed across the Birmingham and Black Country area. Due to Birmingham's vast array of industries, it was nicknamed ""workshop of the World"". The expansion of the population of the town and the increased prosperity led to it acquiring a library in 1779, a hospital in 1766 and a variety of recreational institutions. Horatio Nelson and the Hamiltons visited Birmingham. Nelson"
"making the ring not fully navigable. There is also potential for some sections of the ring being temporarily unnavigable consequent to lack of water during a drought. Stourport Ring The Stourport Ring is a connected series of canals forming a circuit, or canal ring, around Worcestershire, The Black Country and Birmingham in The Midlands, England. The ring is formed from the River Severn, the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, the Stourbridge Canal, the Dudley Canals, the Birmingham Canal Navigations (Netherton Tunnel Branch Canal and Birmingham New Main Line) and the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. The ring is 74 miles and includes"
"Old Turn Junction Old Turn Junction, or Deep Cutting Junction () is a canal junction in Birmingham, England, where the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal meets the Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line Canal. The junction features a circular island. When the first Birmingham Canal (now known as the BCN Main Line) was built in the late 1760s there was a dispute among the shareholders about where the canal should terminate. In the end two termini were created: one in 1772 at Newhall Hill, called the Newhall Branch, and the other in 1773 at the western end of Paradise Street, called the"
"proposed a Central Union Canal from the Worcester and Birmingham Canal near Worcester Bar via Solihull to the Oxford at Ansty, while in 1833 there were proposals for a London and Birmingham Canal, from Stratford direct to the Regent's Canal, which would bypass the Grand Junction Canal entirely. This, together with the railway threats, spurred the Grand Junction into making improvements. The London and Birmingham Railway was completed in 1838 and, with the exception of the Oxford Canal, the canals on the route from London to Birmingham co-operated to reduce tolls to compete with the railway. As a result, there"